Racing: Triple header
Jebel Ali has the honour of hosting the opening meeting of the eagerly awaited 2009-10 UAE racing season.
Dubai: Jebel Ali has the honour of hosting the opening meeting of the eagerly awaited 2009-10 UAE racing season and a competitive six-race, all Thoroughbred, card will be well attended tomorrow.
Pride of place goes to a conditions race over five furlongs and featuring the return to action of the Doug Watson-trained Hammadi, winner of the Listed Jebel Ali Sprint over course and distance in March.
He was then beaten, but far from disgraced, in the Group 1 Golden Shaheen on World Cup night and will appreciate the return to this company and looks the one to beat.
Rashed Bouresly's Lightning Flash, Satish Seemar's Escape Route and the Ali Rashid Al Raihe-trained Sea Hunter look the main dangers.
Hammadi is owned by Malih Al Basti, as is Alsadeek who must go close in the opening six-furlong handicap. He too is trained by Watson.
Dahteer was a revelation last season and heads the weights in the seven-furlong handicap. Trained on the course by Dhruba Selvaratnam, he will be ridden by stable jockey William Buick. He will be hard to beat.
Racing concludes with a 1,950m handicap in which Watson's Call Me George is capable of a bold show but may have his work cut out to beat Rochdale - ridden by Royston Ffrench for trainer Al Raihe.
Sharjah
Having missed a season, racing returns to Sharjah on Saturday, but on a new surface, so past Sharjah form becomes irrelevant.
Two Thoroughbred races grace the card with a 1,700m maiden having attracted 10 runners. Bouresly's Summer Games could be hard to beat.
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi on Sunday sees a seven-furlong handicap, the night's only Thoroughbred race, concluding matters. It looks a good race with several potential Carnival runners among the nine declared. It would be no surprise to see Wayne Smith on the Musabah Al Muhairi-trained Ibn Battuta land the spoils, with Selvaratnam's Envisage and Al Raihe's Mutanaseb feared most.
The feature race is the preceding one with nine declared for a mile Purebred Arabian handicap. Gill Duffield's Royal Class is sure to be a popular selection and it is her only runner of the weekend.
He could have most to fear from Rod Simpson duo Jazeerat Alsadyaat and Le Gusta Bailar. Simpson's Mujtahid is strongly fancied in the earlier mile handicap.
